may 3: my bed

Definitely on the Top 10 list when it comes to my favorite things.

My husband promised me a new mattress before baby #2 was born. (Side note: Our first one came from Vince, who frequented the coffee shop Warren used to manage. Vince knew a guy, and if we would only meet him at his creepy warehouse, he would set us up. True story.) We went shopping, did the whole Princess and the Pea thing, but it was impossible to compare mattresses/prices. Ever-researching husband didn't want to settle and end up with something that would feel like lumpy oatmeal (or grits if you're from the south), and I just wanted him to choose something, now. But the man does not make hasty (or many bad) decisions, and found this company: Bed in a Box

Yep. Bed in a Box. Sounds cozy, doesn't it!?! But he decided if we went with this company, we could get top quality for our buck.(He even called some of the businesses located around Bed in a Box to make sure it was legitimate. And one business owner said he had one of the mattresses, and was very pleased.) And did we EVER. A memory foam mattress that is as comfortable today as when we bought it. I sing his praises almost every night, and that mattress came two days before Adeline was born. Five years ago. It was one of those things the Lord still uses to help me trust my husband. Because every single night I benefit from his research and good judgment. And I am in love with my mattress. And him, but we both highly esteem the mattress.

may 2: excitement

Continuing with the theme A Few of my Favorite Things, in no particular order...

2. Excited little people
Children see the world so differently than boring adults. They can throw their hearts into a rousing rendition of the Winnie the Pooh theme song and think their mother is the funniest person in the world when she sings the whole thing with every word beginning with the letter "B." It isn't hard to find a thousand favorite things when you are surrounded by little people. I think the Lord gives emotional highs in exchange for all the physical lows experienced in this stage. Here are just two examples of things they said that brought a little smile to my face today:

Adeline: At first when you turned around, I thought the side of your arm looked skinny, but then I saw it was not skinny. I said not skinny because we aren't allowed to say you are fat.  (Why does this keep coming up?) Then they all decided it was okay (with my whole-hearted approval) to call babies fat. Cooper said it was because they can't really hear you very well when you say it.

Thomas asked me if I have green or red letters in my name. No idea.
 
Getting back to the excitement of little people, this is Adeline after her chocolate chip pancake breakfast (Sunday night, because we had more time to be together), opening a few birthday presents one day early:

She had a fairly long list of birthday wishes, listing minutia such as "for my birthday snack, I would like..." As if she were the queen. Except on your birthday you do kind of get to be queen, so I went ahead and bought the birthday snack. Being part of a larger family means you don't always get as many options; you learn to go with the flow. But on  your birthday, you get to direct the show. I think that's kind of fun. And it really doesn't take much to get these kids excited. (Yes, she asked for garden tools for her birthday.)

Happy First Day of May

3:42pm
I'm taking a little apple and peanut butter snack break in honor of the day. And because you know what May brings (other than showers): Every Day in May, the blogging challenge we all love to hate. Just kidding, it's really a great motivation to re-enter the blog sphere for a few weeks and feel less guilty the rest of the year when I go for months without an appearance. This year, I think I will go with a theme for my daily blog entries. A very broad theme: A few of my favorite things. Mostly things I'm thankful for, products I've come to love, etc. Like Oprah, but lighter (brighter?) and no live audience. And without all the money and giveaways! Don't worry, it will be fun.

The first of the month is always busy around here, but we have three in-town birthdays in the family this week (several more out-of-towners), including my firstborn girl. Here she is, in all her 5 year old glory:

There were other, better pictures, but this is so her. Her mouth is moving- she NEVER STOPS TALKING. Wears me out. But more on birthdays tomorrow.

I need to find all the library books and check them off the list and return them. Not my favorite job. Although I do love going to the library, even if last time I found out I owed $30 in fines (thankfully, they cap it at $10), only take cash (which I didn't have on me), and won't let you get any books until it's paid. Even more thankful was I for the presence of my mother, when hearing about said large fine, the baby had a blow-out  on me in the sling. Not only did my Mom have the necessary cash to make everyone happy that we didn't have to leave without books, but she also kept me from hauling all the kids back out to the car while I cleaned everything up. That was the day I decided never to go anywhere again. So, I guess you could say I used to love going to the library. In all seriousness, I really do like the trip, I just need to learn to check out less than 50 books so it's not such a huge event.


And honestly, that's all the time I have. Apple is gone. Laundry mounds are heaping up and when I look at them I have to talk myself out of hyperventilating. You can do it. It will only take a few minutes.And then it will be clean for about 12 hours before a new pile will start, and that's way longer than the floors stay clean.

I should stop writing about what I need to do and do the Nike thing. Or the responsible, love-my-family and work thing.

If you want to link up and join your fellow bloggers in the Every Day in May challenge, feel free. These are some of my friends participating (all their blogs are in my sidebar):
Lea, at Blog it All (who actually started this crazy tradition)
Tracy, at Making the Trek
Mandi, at The Eagle's Nest
my Mom, at Cheaper by the Bakers Dozen? (hint hint)